Adjustable dispensing closure for containers



1953 w. H. HENDERSON ADJUSTABLE DISPENSING CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 13, 1948 INVENTOR BY W/LL/AM H f/EA/fii-ESO/V Patented Nov. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI CE ADJUSTABLE DISPENSING CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS William H. Henderson, SantaRosa, Calif.

Application November 13, 1948, Serial No. 59,814

of the top of such containers,- the latter beingv customarily made of: paper board or cardboard. The most widely used-form of such provision has includedthe; perforating or scoring of a corner portion andalsoa portion ofthe side-of the container contiguous theretosothat by the application of finger pressurealong-such' line of scoring or;perforations the-line would be severed and such top corner portionof;thecontainer could then befolded-back toprovide arelativelylarge pouring; aperture. Therarrangement just described possesses the advantagesof: economy,- simplicity and: adaptability to users. of slight manual dexterity. Accordingly, there has been widespread adoption of'this form of closure particularlyby the manufacturers of :soap powder.

comparatively slight. improvement has been made in the, perforated type of closure mentioned and such. changes have beengenerally in the direction of 1further;complicating: the open ing'operation. Particularly; there has: been no widely adapted. closure variations which would the ordinary use ofsuch-containers has been attended with suddenand rexcessive dispensing therefrom. When such containers are used to supplysoap powder directly towashing machines of the automatic type, there is strong: likelihood of large lumpsof soap, powder escaping from the container and remaining undissolved in the machine. throughout. the.v washing cycle, Where suchmachines include-means such as a grating for intercepting such lumps there is still the manualstep of breakingthe lumps so that they will pass through the grating and the quantity of soap,i supplied: thereby may be-excessive.- The foregoing. and other:problemsare:satisfactorily solved by the invention hereinafter described.

Therefore, closures of It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an adjustable dispensing closure for containers of the class referred to.

It is another object of the invention to pro vide a dispensing closure for such containers which includes in addition to the largeopeningalready mentioned, one or more additional open ings which may be selectively and readilyutilized' and such larger opening made ineffective;-

It is another object ofthei'nvention to-provide' a dispensing closure having" restricted openings which remain invariable in area over' many dis penning operations.

A further object of: theinve'ntion isto'provide" a dispensing closur'ethat is's-i'mple' and inexpen sive and is adapted to use' by awide class of packaging industries" as'w'ell as their'customers. Still further objects'and advantages'of thein vention will be" apparent in the following description and claims considered together with the accompanying drawing; inwhich':

Figure 1 is a perspective view of'a currently? popular container for pulverulent material such as soap powder and showing the improved closure? of this invention in adjusted position therein,

Figure 2'is a'vertica'l sectional view of"the'con tainer'oi Figure-l taken midway between the side walls thereof,

Figure 3 is a perspective viewof my improved closure correspondingtc Figure 1 but-'"showing': the closure flap in closed position therein; and

the body portion of the container cutaway;

Figure 4 is a-plan'view of a portion of the dispensing flap of my. improved closure, and

Figure 5 is a perspective "view of a modified' form of the invention;

Referring now to the -drawing, and especially Figure 1 thereof, it willbe seen that the usual cardboard container indicated generally at! and heaving opposite sidewalls 2, opposite end walls 3, abottom'wall generally indicated at'd and a top wall generally: indicated at"5 is provided with an aperture 6 resulting from "thesevering'of por tions of the contiguous-cornerportions of'top wall 5 and one of the'end walls 3;

The particular :wall-constr'ucti'on ofcontainer l is not of especial significance in understand; ing the present invention-as various studied ar rangements may be adopted without loss of anyofithe advantages-thereon However, for'pur poses of illustration I haveshown such container as composed of a single sheet I of cardbo'ardifi for example, which-constitutes= the front walli portion 3extends across th top to form the in nermost wall 8 thereof, thence downwardly tojoin the inner rear end wall and then forwardly again to the opposite end of the material sheet which last named portions of sheet 1 in practically abutting relation form the inner bottom wall of the container. The opposite side walls 2 may be a part of the single sheet just described or made otherwise as desired.

Both the top and bottom walls of the conventional container described are further reinforced by superposed sheets 9 and ID of cardboard united to the inner walls therebeneath as by a suitable adhesive. Where the three superposed sheets constituting the top Wall intersect the front end wall 3 to form an upper corner of the container they are perforated or scored to facilitate separation of the sheet portion along the score lines, and thereby provide an opening in the container.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 3 it will be noted that the score lines referred to outline a trapezoidal cutout 12 in the upper portion of wall 3 having sides l3, Hi and a lower base l5. The line of juncture l6 of this trapezoid with the superposed top walls is ordinarily not scored, the score lines instead being continued at the junctures of the side walls 2 With the top wall at It and I1 and finally being joined by a score line I 8 extending across the top of the container and constituting a fold line as will later appear.

The closure thus far described is ordinarily made operable by the application of finger pressure by the user to the trapezoidal portion it so that score lines [3, l4 and [5 are severed. The opening thus provided is sufficient to permit the entrance of user's finger to render more easy the separation of the sheet material along the score lines IS, IT and the folding back along the score line l8 of the entire tab portion constituting the closure flap as is shown in Figures 1 and 2. It will be seen therefore that when the container hereinbefore described is inverted at such an inclination that any of the contents thereof is discharged through the opening 6 that it is quite likely that the quantity of material discharged may be and frequently is in excess of that desired due to the critical pouring angle previously referred to. Also unpowdered material in the form of large lumps formed perhaps as a result of previous storage under conditions of excessive humidity, may be discharged despite the most careful attention of the user. To eliminate these and other disadvantages the improvement now to be described is directed.

Referring again to Figures 1, 2 and 5 it will be seen that the single sheet of cardboard l which extends across the upper portion of the container to constitute the inner top wall 8 thereof is separated centrally to provide a left hand portion (Figure 2) which is securely united to the superposed reinforcing sheets thereabove and a right hand portion 8a which is unattached to the sheet thereabove from such central separation to the fold line [8 previously referred to. From the fold line [8 to the juncture with the trapezoidal cut-out [2, portion 8a is secured to the sheet next above as is clearly shown in Figure 2 constituting with such superposed sheets the combined dispensing and closure flap 8a, I2. The lower outer margins of the dispensing flap 8a are stepped as shown at El in Figure 4 to selectively engage the inclined walls l3, M in which position they are maintained by the resiliency of the Wall portions adjacent the opening and the pressure of the pulverulent material during the pouring operation. When the lowermost step is engaged as described the most restricted pouring opening is provided, while a larger opening results when the step next above is locked against the inclined walls [3, l4. Also it will be noted that even when the container is completely inverted, the dispensing opening provided is so restricted as to provide quite effective control of the rate of discharge of the container contents. It will be readily apparent that the locking action described could be obtained by interchanging the relations of the stepped portions of dispensing flap 8a and the stepped portions 2|. For example, the walls l3, I4 could be vertical instead of inclined and could be provided with marginal cut-outs forming teeth into which the now inclined side walls of flap so would eifectively be locked. Obviously other equivalent expedients might be suggested.

In use the container is opened as formerly and the tab or closure flap i2 is pushed back so that the lower portion of the dispensing flap 3a pro- Jected through the lower portion of the trapezoidal opening at which time locking of the stepped portions 2! against the inclined walls I3, it takes place automatically, the stepped portion engaged depending upon the extent of backward movement of closure I 2. Similarly the container is closed as before when the closure is moved forwardly and downwardly into the position shown in Figure 3, the dispensing flap 8a concurrently swinging backward into fiatwise position against the sheet material therabove.

A modification of my invention shown in Fig ure 5 differs from the preferred form heretofore described in that the dispensing flap ta is provided with a centrally outlined disc 25 which may be pushed out by the user to leave a circular opening which serves as a pouring aperture. Such removal of this disc is facilitated by reason of the fact that the user has ready access to both sides of the dispensing flap 3a. In this form of the invention the stepped portion of flap is so located that its side margins closely fit the lowermost portion of the inclined walls l3, it and effectively close the restricted opening heretofore provided. In Figure 5 such dispensing flap shown as provided with narrow slits or cut-outs in lieu of the stepped portion in the first form of the invention in order to more securely grip the inner and outer surfaces of the inclined walls i3, it although it is readily evident that the simple notch design of Figure 1 would likewise provide an effective closure for the opening left by the removal of the outer flap I2.

I claim:

1. In a container of relatively stiff sheet ma terial having a hinged flap formed corner portion thereof and separable from sa container to provide a pouring opening of substantial area, dispensing fiap connected to said hinged flap and having marginal portions engageable with the portions of said container defining said pouring opening in a plurality of positions to provide a plurality of pouring openings of different and restricted areas and movable inwardly with said hinged flap to close said container when desired, said dispensing flap being disposed substantially immediately adjacent the upper Wall of said container when the hinged flap is in closed position and said dispensing flap having a distal portion extending beyond an end wall of said container when the hinged flap is in an open position.

2. In a container of relatively stiff sheet material having a pouring opening at the juncture of an end and top wall thereof and further having a hinged flap formed as an upper corner portion of said container and serving to selectively open and close said opening, a dispensing flap formed as a continuation of said hinged flap and movable with the latter, said dispensing flap being angularly disposed relative to said walls when said hinged flap is in open position and further lying across said opening, means on said dispensing flap releasably engageable with portions of said end wall adjacent the opening for regulating the size of said opening through which ma terial may flow from the container, and said dispensing flap being entirely disposed within said container when said hinged flap is in container closing position.

3. In a container of the type described, a top wall, a plurality of side walls and a bottom wall cooperating to define a substantially enclosed chamber for material to be dispensed, means adjacent one of said side walls and said top wall defining a corner pouring opening of substantial area, said opening portion in said top wall being of generally rectangular shape and said opening portion in said one side Wall extending from the respective adjacent corners of said side and top wall convergently downwardly, a closure member hinged to said top wall having a portion overlying said top wall opening and having an angularly related portion overlying said side wall opening, a dispensing flap secured to the first mentioned portion of said closure member and moveable therewith, said flap being entirely disposed within said container when said member is in container closing position and said flap lying across said opening when said member is in open position, and means on said flap engageable with portions of said side wall adjacent the opening therein for selectively controlling the effective pouring area, of the opening, said last named means including notched peripheral portions along opposed edges of said flap.

4. In a container provided with a top, a bottom, and a plurality of sides defining a chamber for material to be dispensed therefrom, one of said sides being provided with an opening extending from the upper edge thereof, said top being provided with an opening extending from an edge thereof adjacent said one side, said openings defining an angular dispensing opening for material in said chamber, closure member having a first portion overlying said top opening and an angularly related second portion overlying said side opening when said closure member is in closed position, a dispensing flap secured to said first portion in substantial coplanar relationship thereto, means pivotally securing said first portion to said top wall whereby said first portion may be rotated to position said flap adjacent said side opening, and cooperative means on said flap and on said side adjacent the opening therein for frictionally and releasably holding said flap in selected positions across said side opening.

5. A container as set forth in claim 4 in which said cooperative means includes angularly disposed peripheral portions on said side wall and notched portions on opposed edges of said flap engageable therewith.

WILLIAM H. HENDERSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 968,717 Vaughan Aug. 30, 1910 1,632,412 McCrystal June 14, 1927 1,943,204 Chute Jan. 9, 1934 2,003,925 Dallar June 4, 1935 2,104,195 Groeling Jan. 4, 1938 2,358,923 Guyer Sept. 26, 1944 2,480,729 Guest Aug. 30, 1949 

